Rebirth in 2011: Starting as an Advertising Genius

"Hi senior, was that you on the school forum just now?"

"Yes, it's me!"

Call me senior?

Good, I like it. Keep calling it that way.

"When are you starting your part-time job? Where are you going to work?"

"I have two part-time jobs this Saturday. From 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., I'll be handing out flyers at SM Plaza in Yuexi. From 5 p.m. to 8 p.m., I'll be helping out at a barbecue restaurant in Shangfang Mountain, setting up the grill and lighting the charcoal!"

Wow~

It was indeed the Tang Chao I knew.

In my past life, he was the most dedicated to working overtime; I never imagined he was this dedicated during his university years!

Most people probably spend their weekends playing games in their dorms or going out on dates, but he's different. One part-time job isn't enough; he has to do two!

Chen Jianghe didn't ask why.

he knows.

"I'll give you 1000 yuan a day, and we'll have a professional photographer follow you around all day. You can just follow your own pace, and we'll intersperse some questions in between; just answer them truthfully!"

Tang Chao was taken aback.

"1000?"

He worked part-time for 4 hours in the morning, earning 15 yuan per hour, for a total of 60 yuan.

I work a part-time job at Shangfang Mountain for 3 hours in the afternoon, earning 20 or 60 yuan per hour.

I earn 120 yuan a day from part-time jobs, but they want to pay me 1000 yuan to film a video for me?

"You're not a scammer, are you?"

Tang Chao glanced at Chen Jianghe suspiciously.

Chen Jianghe remained silent.

"Brother, what makes you so easy to fool?"

Tang Chao nodded in agreement, "Indeed!"

"We're going to upload the video to Bilibili, which means we need your image rights. Don't worry about 1000 yuan being too high. The fact that I'm paying this amount proves you're worth it. All you have to do is perform well in the video and show your most authentic self as much as possible!"

Tang Chao didn't think much of it; what could be more terrifying than poverty?

"Okay, I promise you!"

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Saturday, 7:30 a.m.

Chen Jianghe, Xia An, and Wu Xiaohui, the senior student who filmed with her, appeared on time downstairs at Tang Chao's dormitory.

Xia An yawned, her eyes not fully open: "Boss, is this guy really as amazing as you say? Working two jobs a day?"

"You'll know how fierce he is once you take a picture." Chen Jianghe glanced at his phone. "He should be down soon."

As soon as he finished speaking, the glass door of the dormitory building was pushed open, and Tang Chao strode out wearing a faded blue T-shirt, sneakers with the soles undone, and an old backpack.

He rushed forward upon seeing Chen Jianghe and the others.

Good morning, senior.

Good morning, senior students.

"Have you eaten?" Chen Jianghe handed over a plastic bag containing two meat buns and a cup of soy milk.

Tang Chao hesitated for a moment, then took it: "Thanks, how much?"

"Please."

Tang Chao didn't stand on ceremony and swallowed a bun in a few bites, saying as he chewed, "Then I won't be polite. I have to work until eight o'clock tonight, and I can't keep going without eating."

The camera was already on, so everything would be captured on camera.

Xia An, holding a camera, watched Chen Jianghe with a slightly strange expression.

He just heard this junior call Chen Jianghe "senior"?

Isn't Chen Jianghe a freshman?

However, there was no time for her to ask questions; instead, they were filming her with a camera.

SM Plaza is in Yuexi, less than a ten-minute drive from the school.

There were relatively few people in the shopping plaza in the morning, but since it was the weekend, people started to come in gradually.

"I need to go get a flyer first!"

Tang Chao said to Chen Jianghe.

The camera then followed Tang Chao to a meeting point, where most of the people present appeared to be students. They were lining up and receiving flyers from a leader.

The sign above reads, "XX Real Estate is about to open for sale."

Then the day's distribution work began.

Chen Jianghe stood at a distance, arms crossed, watching Tang Chao's back.

Tang Chao's way of distributing flyers is different from everyone else's.

He didn't stand where there were the fewest people, but rather on the side of the plaza entrance, where pedestrians slowed down.

Unlike others who mechanically hand out flyers, he first glances at the other person.

When he encounters someone with a child, he'll smile and say, "Brother, show your child this; there's a kindergarten right next to this development."

When he meets young couples, he'll say, "Sisters, take a look at this apartment layout. You'll find it useful when you get married."

When he meets a middle-aged man, he will say, "Uncle, there's a discount on this property right now."

His gaze was neither humble nor arrogant, his tone neither hurried nor slow, and he was not embarrassed when rejected; he would just smile and turn to the next person.

Seeing this, Chen Jianghe called out to Xia An.

Xia An followed, camera in hand.

"Tang Chao, how did you determine what those people needed?"

Tang Chao looked a little embarrassed at the camera: "Well... you see. People with children care about schooling, young people care about price, and middle-aged people value appreciation potential. I'm just guessing, it might not be accurate."

"Don't you feel bad when you get rejected?" Lin Yi pressed.

Tang Chao thought for a moment and said, "It's not that I'm not upset, but think about it, people don't reject your flyers, they don't reject you as a person. A flyer is a flyer, and I am me. If you look at it separately, it won't be so upsetting."

Chen Jianghe listened from the side, a slight smile playing on his lips.

This angle, if edited into a video, would definitely touch many people.

Tang Chao finished work at noon and went to the foreman to collect 60 yuan. The foreman obviously knew Tang Chao. When settling accounts with others, he would say a few words about deducting points, but when settling accounts with Tang Chao, he settled accounts directly without saying a word.

"Do you come to hand out flyers every weekend?"

"I come here almost every week!"

"Then you must be making a lot of money a month!"

"Hehe~" Tang Chao chuckled foolishly.

"Shall I treat you to dinner?"

"No need, just eat whatever you normally eat. We mainly want to see how much college students spend in a day. At your rate, you might even be making money!"

Since Chen Jianghe said so, Tang Chao finally chose Shaxian snacks, which he often ate.

He ordered a chicken leg rice, asked the owner to add a lot of rice and pour some of the chicken leg broth over it, and also got a bottle of water he brought from school that morning. The meal cost 8 yuan.

Chen Jianghe and Xia An basically kept a record.

Chen Jianghe asked questions from time to time.

"Can you get full eating at Shaxian snack shops?"

"Sure, and Shaxian snacks are the cheapest!"

"It saves money." Tang Chao took a big bite of rice. "I don't ask my family for living expenses anymore. I can earn about 700 yuan a month from part-time jobs. I spend 500 yuan on myself and give 200 or 300 yuan to my family."

"Give it to your family?" Xia An asked, puzzled.

"Yes, the elderly in my family are sick, and we're short of money!" Tang Chao said calmly, as if he were talking about something very ordinary.

Chen Jianghe fell silent.

With five hours left before his second part-time job, Tang Chao chose to go back to school for a nap and then went to the library from 3 pm to 5 pm.

In short, it's a standard college life, but many college students don't do it this way.

The second part-time job was at 5 p.m. at a barbecue restaurant in Shangfang Mountain.

The barbecue restaurant on Shangfang Mountain is called "Shanye Renjia". It is located halfway up the mountain and has an open-air courtyard with dozens of barbecue tables. It is always packed on weekends.

Tang Chao's job is to "put the charcoal in the oven and light the charcoal," which means putting the charcoal into the oven, bringing it to each table of guests, and then lighting it for them.

This job looks simple, but it's actually dirty, tiring, and dangerous.

The first thing Tang Chao did upon arriving at the store was to change into the uniform provided by the store: a black apron, two thick cotton gloves, and a baseball cap.

Then he squatted down at the entrance of the charcoal shed and began assembling the furnace.

Wearing gloves, Tang Chao carefully placed the charcoal pieces into the stove, arranging them neatly.

Each stove needs about ten pieces of charcoal. Once it's filled, the stove is picked up, quickly carried to the guest, and placed steadily on the table. It's then lit with a lighter using alcohol, and the stove is left only after confirming that the fire is burning.

One furnace after another, one trip after another.

Xia An carried his camera and followed along, not daring to get too close, because the charcoal ash would fly up and leave a black mark on his clothes.

"How many furnaces are you going to install today?" Chen Jianghe asked from the side.

Tang Chao picked up a new stove and said as he walked, "There are forty tables in the shop. The turnover rate is high on weekends, so we need to cook at least sixty stoves a night."

Chen Jianghe watched Tang Chao's retreating figure. Tang Chao's black apron had been stained gray by charcoal ash, and beads of sweat on his forehead trickled down his cheeks, dripping onto the ground where they were instantly evaporated by the heat.

But his steps were steady, and there was no sign of complaint on his face.

He even joked with the guests.

"Brother, this charcoal fire is strong. If you put your lamb kidneys on it, you can flip them over in three minutes."

"Sis, you'd better put those chicken wings on the side and let them bake slowly. The heat in the middle is too high, and they'll burn easily."

"Little one, don't touch the stove, it's hot! What do you want to eat? Uncle will grill it for you."

Xia An's hand holding the camera trembled slightly, not from fatigue, but from a feeling of unease in her heart.

"Junior..." she whispered.

"Um?"

"Is this person... really from our school?"

Chen Jianghe glanced at him but did not answer.